I threw on the ghilly suit a few weeks ago and did my first ever archery hunt with it. No kills, but did sneak on 4 does on the edge of a alfalfa field. got within 40 yards, and I blew my cover by pulling back on a doe when she looked at me at the same time. Gonna try it again. I like tree stands but my heart was pumping harder than ever when I closed in on those deer on the ground

Sure is fun with a bow. I usually hunt off the ground during rifle season and do well. Hunting with a bow on the ground, I felt like a true predator waiting and watching thru the trees and brush. Have you ever watched nature footage of top predators like the Cheetah, Wolf, Tiger, as they stalk their prey? Its all fluid motions, precise and fast. I try to think like that when I hunt.

You got it! If hunting for deer with a bow on the ground, sans blinds and tents doesn't ignite your predator genes, then NOTHING will! And you are correct. You have to THINK like a predator, or at least get yourself in that mindset.

Many times when I first get in the woods, I will just sit there for a length of time and try to let all my "modern human" concerns fade away. When that happens, I kind of feel like all of my senses go on super-alert status, and EVERYTHING I see, feel, hear and smell is being absorbed. I begin to notice very small things, like the way a leaf has fallen different from the others (or did a deer walk through here and it's hoof disturbed it?). Browse marks on a branch near my face. The flash of a squirrel's tail 50 yards away in the woods. Time becomes irrelevant. I am in the here and now. What happened yesterday doesn't matter, and tomorrow doesn't exist yet. It doesn't always happen that way, but on a good day it does. And when it does, it's the best hunting experience in the world, whether I have a shot at a deer or not.

I have been thinking of getting a Ghilly suit myself.... Not only for hunting, but also for videoing.... I think it would be cool to film sneaking up on some deer instead of just sitting and waiting....

work2hunt wrote:I have been thinking of getting a Ghilly suit myself.... Not only for hunting, but also for videoing.... I think it would be cool to film sneaking up on some deer instead of just sitting and waiting....

"Cool" doesn't even begin to describe it. When you experience it you'll know what we mean. Even if you been deer hunting for years in the conventional ways, when you get one in close like this you will for the first time in your life feel like you were really "HUNTING"!

Im gonna put the ghilly back on this week. Heading to some public ground, about 20 acres, where most of is pine trees. The pine trees there are about 20 feet tall. The ground is bear and soft, thick with pine needles. You can't hear yourself walk on that stuff at all. Perfect for a stalk. We'll see how it goes...

A word of caution: Besides sound, the other thing that gets hunter's busted by deer is MOVEMENT. Soft footing is great, but beware of letting yourself move too fast or too often because of the silence. It can give you a false sense of invisibility, and IMO movement will get you busted faster than sound. Sometimes it's better to have the ground be a bit crisp, so that you still have to keep your movements slow and diliberate.